Friday, February 11, 2011

I cast on for 2 socks on 1 circular needle yesterday on the train - I've only knitted one pair of socks before, and am not following any instructions on how two at once works, which made me muse a little on how sometimes I feel I am strange for a knitter/crocheter:

Generally finish everything I start

Feel excitement rather than worry at the thought of trying difficult techniques

Love to self-teach and don't really enjoy being taught by others

Prefer to experiment rather than following patterns

This can be good for some things (like trying new things), but also less good (as working from patterns is a great way of broadening knowledge)

Wondering if anyone else shares these tendencies? - they aren't ones I often encounter in crafters I meet (or else I don't know that they are).

1 comment:

In the year I've been crocheting I've finished everything I've started, except for one ami that was too ugly to live. The same can't be said for my cross-stitching career. I am tragically ambitious when it comes to cross-stitch including my downfall of a 100 page pattern for Van Gogh's Starry Night. It was the last thing I worked on before I started crocheting.

I too feel excitement about trying new and/or difficult techniques. I needed to be taught the basics of crochet but since then, I've pretty much self taught myself pattern reading and all the stitches/patterns I know now. Although, I did ask you for a tip once, as I recall.

I do follow patterns because I still feel like a noob. But I've learned to adapt patterns and I'm not afraid to change a pattern if I think I can make it work better my way. (For instance, I've got a suggestion for you for the DT dolls. But hey, that's a separate post! ;) )

I certainly feel more free to experiment in crochet than I ever did in cross-stitch. It would have never crossed my mind to alter a pattern or make up my own. With crochet and the paper crafts I also do, I'm all about seeing what will happen when I stick this here and that there. It might be crap, but it might be full of awesome too. And aren't we all just hunting that full of awesome idea?